watched

After reading Kottke's post In Praise of Comfort Films I decided to revisit an old favorite. I was lucky to watch this before it's release with the actors present for a Q&A afterwards. By lucky, I mean MySpace had an event where you had to put the movie's page as part of your Top 8, print your profile, and line up to get in. If I'm watching for flaws both in the characters and use of language, then there are plenty. But watching this film reminds me of waiting in line with my brother to watch a movie we knew nothing about with a fun soundtrack and hijinks in NYC. The romance plot I could take or leave. I am starting to realize that "hijinks in NYC" might be up there as one of my favorite subgenres. My comfort films are usually that because it reminds me of a specific moment in time and I need to remember to revisit these more often than I do.

The Fingernails plot doesn't really work here. It also doesn't really work without it otherwise we're just watching two people cheat. The ending was good but I wish they would've added a little more to the Black Mirror subplot or find a way to make the movie without it.

This post is my entry for this month's IndieWeb Movie Club hosted by Zachary Kai. It has not been that long since I last watched this film but I still remember quite a bit of it. I'm biased because any parental themes in movies is sure to get me to like it. Add to that found family themes and beautiful animation and I'm all in. While most of the film is pretty formulaic, it still managed to surprise me in quite a few different ways. The whole sequence of Roz arriving and encountering the critters was just as funny the second time around. Pinktail might also be my favorite character but I love that all the forest dwellers have their own unique personalities even when they are relatively minor parts. I appreciate that the film ends with Roz getting picked up after realizing that they would come back. It makes that last scene with Roz and Brightbill so much more meaningful while also ending in a way that if they didn't make sequels feels ok. Negative. That gosling stalks me, emits noise, and makes simple tasks more complicated or impossible.

I liked it but I'm not a fan of the human subplot. Are these people responsible for the events that lead to Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)?

It was fine? It had some great moments (the cactus dare, the song, the Margot Robbie scene), but I think I expected a little something more. I may change my mind when I do my big Wes Anderson marathon at some point in the future. It doesn't matter. Just keep telling the story.

I liked the ending but then I found that there was an alternate ending and was amazed that a film could have two great endings to choose from that completely change the story. The film did lose me a bit at the reveal of the manufactured moment in the interview and how that could be a relationship defining moment. Then I thought more that this may be due to my own skepticism that anything I see in media, news or otherwise, is manufactured. Which made me realize how accurate Albert Brooks' monologue near the end was. Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby Bobby

"He is precious to me." 😭

Some movies feel like they are made for me. This one feels like it was made for Christopher Nolan.

This is the real punk rock

This came up in a recent conversation about Halt and Catch Fire and I know it also previously came up in a Homebrew Website Club so I finally watched it. I think I expected to learn more about the actual machines since I have no actual connection to any of this hardware. The most interesting part to me was the final news report that summarizes the state of the companies and the wikipedia rabbit hole I went down afterwards.

For all it's flaws, I think this movie makes up by making me want to learn more and watch F1.

We just watched this last month but they were showing this in theaters so it felt like a great opportunity to see this on the big screen with O and F. It went pretty well for a first movie theater experience for both of them.

This post is my entry for this month's IndieWeb Movie Club hosted by Thomas. All movies are magical in their own way. Whether it's the idealistic world view that they present, the wonderful characters that bring the story to life, the amazing locations that you can't help but wonder if they are real or not, the actual magical beings shown, or just the fact that almost against all odds a set of artists got together to do their art for everyone else to enjoy. Somehow, Local Hero does all of the above. It's a very quiet movie that before Mac arrives in Scotland you sort of feel like you know how things will play out. But as soon as Peter Capaldi's character gets introduced, things feel a little different. This film breaks all expectations time and time again. I would even argue that it does not really follow the traditional three-act structure nor does it really have an antagonist. Instead we get to explore Ferness with Mac and slowly through meeting the locals, and being welcomed as one of their own, fall in love with a different way of life. For me this is such an interesting example of magical realism in film which I was surprised to find out this film is was not even listed there. The ending is left open ended and it falls to us to think of who could the call be from. I'd like to believe that it's Mac calling to check in on his friends. I hope that Mac gets a chance to go back. Maybe even live there. But seriously: Whose baby?

The good: Fantastic 4, Silver Surfer, and Galactus are hard to do well and this film did them well. The bad: Friend who I watched this with would not stop referencing Renesmee.

I think this quote sums it up pretty well: I wish we could do that whole trip all over again. We'd be a little more deliberate this time. Drive a little slower, take our time. Take a good look at stuff. For an under 90 minute movie, this really builds a world and you learn so much about the characters. It's truly a wonderful film.

I got whiplash watching this. My expectations were high because Past Lives is probably in my top 10, but this is a very different thing. I think there is some interesting commentary about dating, class, and love but in the end it's just fine.

This post is my entry for this months IndieWeb Movie Club hosted by Mark Sutherland. Sometime in 2008, I bought a Nintendo DS Lite. I don't remember what games I bought for it when I first got it, but one of the games I got soon after was Professor Layton and the Curious Village. The Professor Layton series are puzzle point-and-click adventure games with a really fun story, characters, and music. There was a lot that drew me to the series but one of the things I liked the most was how unique the art was. I remember looking into it at the time and some of the media with similar art styles that were brought to my attention were the comics The Adventures of Tintin and Le bibendum céleste as well as this film. For whatever reason, I didn't watch this film at that time. I'm kinda happy I didn't as I don't think I would've appreciated it then as much as I did now. There's a lot of ways to read this movie, but I was very pulled in by just how loving and caring the grandmother character, Madame Souza, was. Raising a kid is hard work, but putting the love and dedication in trying to find ways to cheer them up, or paying attention to what little reactions they have to their interests goes a long way. It doesn't end there as she also helps him with his training, inventing all sorts of interesting contraptions to make sure he's the best athlete he can be, as well as going along with him for the actual competitions. And once he gets kidnapped, she goes to incredible lengths to get him back. Everything that happened post-kidnapping was like four movies rolled into one. I don't think I can even do it justice by explaining it so I'll just skip to the end. It is amazing that the films runtime is only 81 mins though. The last scene was a little heartbreaking because we see a much older Champion as he calls out to let his grandmother know the film has ended. I believe we are meant to take this as he's old and alone now. I choose to believe that it's not that much further into the future and that he's calling out to her in a different room. I started writing some notes for this post as the credits rolled and was surprised to find out there was a post-credits scene. I'm not sure if this was available for all depending on which version of the film you caught, and it's just a quick second, but it's a funny callback joke which this film does so well so it's worth a watch. I think this is a brilliant film which has to be watched to be fully appreciated. It probably needs a few rewatches to catch all the little details scattered throughout the film. But if you watch one thing, here's a short clip of one of my favorite scenes from the movie. It shows the first look we get as we enter the city of Belleville, about 30 mins into the film. Pan shot of Belleville Thanks Mark for choosing this movie.

I should rewatch this trilogy more often than I do.

I like that this movie didn't waste too much time explaining the backstory of every single character. This is something that even Captain America: Brave New World did recently which I did not enjoy. On paper, I should love David Harbour's character but it was one joke too many for me.

They think he's a righteous dude.

I'm unsure if this film is trying to tell us Jodorowsky is a genius or a fool. Regardless, he built one amazing team. It would be great to see the full book released or actually adapted to a comic or animation project.

The fact they fit so much story in 95mins is even more impressive than that it is oner.

Watch this. Even though I watched this game live, I didn't really know any of this happened.

I think I get what this is trying to say but I don't like the way it says it. I also did not like the need to anthropomorphize mushrooms with the narrator as this felt like it was trying to do.

the world is not always kind

Nobody told me this had spoilers for the new Marvel.

I don't know. Read this post that connects Mad Max to Threads for a palate cleanser.

I'm happy I got to watch this so close after watching MI: Dead Reckoning. This film just puts the previous one in a weird spot since, other than introducing two characters and the evil AI, you could skip "Part One" and still get most of the plot with just this film. I did hear that people had issues with all the explaining and flashbacks but I actually liked that since it makes the film quite standalone. I watched this with someone that had never seen a Mission Impossible film and she got the gist. I still believe that you could cut parts one and two into a single film in 2.5hr and still have a pretty great film rather than two OK films. I honestly thought Ethan would die in the end but when he didn't, I hoped he would at least go dark and fake his death. He's done it all, saved the world a million times, and lost his family. He should rest now. I'm sad it didn't really end there. I also wish Pom Klementieff had more to do. Her prison fight scene is so great and then basically nothing. Finally, learning about what William Donloe has been up to since the first film was truly great.

This post is my entry for this months IndieWeb Movie Club hosted by Tantek. There's a moment where Hugh Laurie's character is talking about the state of things and how people are taking the message that is supposed to make them scared and instead "repackaging" it. It can be enjoyed as video games, as TV shows, books, movies. The entire world wholeheartedly embraced the apocalypse and sprinted towards it with gleeful abandon. I liked some of what this movie is trying to say. I really liked how this movie looks. But the overall message feels more bleak than optimistic given pretty much everything. Maybe I missed the part where they explain how people in "Tomorrowland" talk about how they are helping the other dimension? What is the purpose of invention and research without obstruction if the advancements in technology are kept to themselves without benefiting the rest. It's not helped by the fact that it ends where it begins. Recruiting even more "dreamers" which will continue to improve their world while failing to help the rest. I've read about and watched my fair share of Disney history, from the parks to Walt so I appreciated the trivia. I even found myself pointing at the screen and saying "I understood that reference" more than once. It's not personal. It's just programming.

This movie has two of my favorite things: Michael B. Jordan and Michael A. Jordan.

Not sure when I'll watch part 2 but I couldnt remember the plot of this one so I thought I was due a rewatch. I think its still a fun action movie with some very Mission Impossible moments. In the end it feels like its missing something and doesnt quite work for me as a standalone film. Maybe someone will do an edit that combines pt1 and 2 into something less than 2.5 hours.

Me gusto las ideas de esta película pero partes se sintieron como que faltaba otra toma. Para mi, esta es una introducción al Ecuador por medio de sus personajes. La narración, que a veces parece fuera de lugar, nos cuenta suficiente de los personajes para establecer su identidad geográfica dentro del país. Es diferente ser de Quito, Cuenca o Guayaquil. Por lo menos eso es lo que creemos. Al poner a esos personajes del punto de vista de una turista da perspectiva a esas diferencias mientras ella aprende del país y quienes habitan ahí. Los estereotipos se sienten sobre actuados pero creo funcionan sobre todo para que gente no familiarizada con ciertas regiones o gente Ecuatoriana. El Ecuador, man, el Ecuador.

Oh boy. I was not ready for this today. Spoiler warning: There was a great moment where Akemnji Ndifornyen's character has words with one of the leads. It's such a refreshing moment in what in a worse film would've led to a much different outcome.

It was fine? I enjoyed the show more. This is a Captain America movie and it should focus on him more. I know it's the theme of these movies now but the MCU seems to be focus on the grand storyline rather than the characters. Anthony Mackie is doing great and I hope his next MCU film let's him do more.

This was the only movie of the saga that I had not seen in theaters. I almost cried when Hayden Christensen showed up on screen to intro the 20th Anniversary release.

Is there a part 2 to this coming out? I know it's called "Becoming" Led Zeppelin but I was expecting it to cover their full timeline.

This post is my entry for IndieWeb Movie Club #008. Here's another new to me movie thanks to IndieWeb Movie Club. The movie poster made me think it would be a bit more 80s comedy and while this is a funny film, its a different vibe. Spoiler warning: I was a little worried that the film would end with them losing the land but get a big payout that would make it possible for them to relocate the castle. I think I just expected the judges to side with the airline and this would have given them a happy-ish ending. I was actually surprised and enjoyed them winning in the end. This one is going straight to the pool room.

That was, in fact, vengeance most fowl